Key information
Duration: 3 years full time
UCAS code: W6V1
Institution code: R72
Campus: Egham
The course
Video Games Art and Design (BA)
Study Video Games Art and Design BA at Royal Holloway to gain the skills to work at the top level of the gaming industry. Or develop your abilities as a digital artist for smaller, bespoke indie game products.
The games industry is booming, with innovation across mobile, PC, console, and cloud gaming. There’s huge demand for new artists, designers, writers, coders, marketing teams, and animators.
You’ll combine 3D modelling, world building, game development, and design with virtual production, animation, and post-production. And we’ll show you how AI is reshaping expectations so you can tackle the changing environment.
Keep ahead of the curve
- Gain practical experience in facilities like our Game Art and Design Lab, Virtual Production Studio, and Film Studios
- Benefit from being close to London and our connections within the gaming industry
- Boost your CV with one-to-one support and the opportunity to work with leading companies like Final Pixel
Develop your voice
Create a piece in Unity for a 2D Indie platform game. Or make real-time ray-traced photoreal content in Unreal as part of a bigger production. Whatever your focus, we’ll teach you the skills you need to succeed and find your place in the digital industry.
We sometimes make changes to our courses to improve your experience. If this happens, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
Course structure
Core Modules
Year 1
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The module introduces students to coding and the creation of artistic and experimental digital projects. The first part of the course involves analysis and critique of existing projects and practices. Under the umbrella of creative code and digital art, students create an online digital media project, learning all the stages from design to delivery, while acquiring advanced coding skills that will enable them to create ambitious and innovative practice work in years two and three.
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This module dovetails with 3D Digital Art. You will learn the fundamentals of the Unity Game Engine and how to create a pipeline between the integration of your assets and game engine functionality. You will also learn the coding language C# from the ground up to create engine functionality and understand how code is integral to working in a pipeline in the games industry. This module will allow you to create fun and interesting games and game levels to help you build the skills you need to work in teams as well as the discipline required to be an Indie Developer.
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This module will introduce you to the fundamental skills of 3D modelling and the high end texturing and PBR material workflow. We will focus on topology creation skills as well integrating effective UVW skills to create models which are based on solid research and presentation skills. This module is fundamental to scaffold your learning moving into you further modules and years with us at the college. We have excellent facilities and staff to deliver these skills at very high level.
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These companion modules (Introduction to Media Histories 1 and Introduction to Media Histories 2) introduce students to media histories encompassing complementary accounts of film, television, video games, computing, the internet, and social media.
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These companion modules (Introduction to Media Histories 1 and Introduction to Media Histories 2) introduce students to media histories encompassing complementary accounts of film, television, video games, computing, the internet, and social media
Year 2
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This module is largely individually based enabling students to build their own vision of a game world. The module will involve some honing of technical skills with a view to exposing you to the calibre of work required for high-end or AAA gaming, but such aspects will be fused with an emphasis on storytelling strategies and techniques for interactive, virtual and three dimensional environments. You will thus explore a range of design, technical and narrative approaches to game art and design.
You will begin to work more extensively in 3D and develop game concepts with a specific audience in mind. You will have the opportunity to work with drama and directing students to see their narrative ideas brought to life by performances that can inhabit their game world. The module will thus emphasise the artistic role of the games designer working in collaboration with other technical and creative disciplines.
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This module is built around a collaborative group gameplay experience, created in Unity and designed to output to the Android platform. You will learn the principles of AGILE and SCRUM and how this way of working is essential when working as part of a team in the games industry. Whilst the games you make could be small in scope we expect you to implement a thorough testing and aesthetic strategy to create a professional and polished product.
Year 3
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This module is designed to provide an understanding of the process of presenting work to industry professionals, with the overall arch focussed on employability. You will identify the area of the industry you are aiming to enter and will be tasked with creating a series of new works which fulfil your career ambitions with a very structured approach to the means by which you can achieve those ambitions.
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In this module you will design, develop and execute a substantial original piece of digital media, combining still and moving image, sound, text and code. You will prepare and write a project proposal and budget and present your ideas in public. You will reflect on and critically analyse your work, showing an advanced understanding of the aesthetic ethical and technical issues involved in digital and social media. Here it is your chance to pursue your own passions and our students produce everything from digital magazines, interactive films, 2D and 3D animations, music videos, interactive and immersive websites, digital art installations and curations and augmented and virtual reality.
Optional Modules
Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.
Year 2
Choose from an exciting array of optional practice and theory modules. Some are directly related to BA Video Games Art and Design while others will enable you to broaden your studies into film, television, and digital media.
Teaching & assessment
Teaching on this course is delivered through lectures, workshops, labs and one-to-one supervision.
You will be asked to develop game artwork, storyboards and scripts, prototypes and designs alongside a range of written and oral assessments, including social media, reports and essays.
You will have the opportunity to work in agile development labs with students from electronic engineering and computer science where you will rapidly develop your game ideas to prototype.
You will have access to our newly furnished video games and immersive labs, as well as a range of media production facilities, including motion capture, a TV studio, and editing and post-production suites.
Entry requirements
A Levels: BBB-BBC
Required: At least five GCSE passes at grades A* to C or 9-4, including Maths and English.
- Select your qualification
- International Baccalaureate
- BTEC National Extended Diploma
- BTEC National Diploma
- BTEC National Extended Certificate
- Welsh Baccalaureate
- Scottish Advanced Highers
- Scottish Highers
- Irish Leaving Certificate
- Access to Higher Education Diploma
- T-levels
English language requirements
All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.
The scores we require
- IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
- Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
- Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
- Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
Country-specific requirements
For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please visit here.
Undergraduate preparation programme
For international students who do not meet the direct entry requirements, for this undergraduate degree, the Royal Holloway International Study Centre offers an International Foundation Year programme designed to develop your academic and English language skills.
Upon successful completion, you can progress to this degree at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Your future career
Over 120 gaming companies are located within 30 minutes of Royal Holloway. The games sector employing over 12,000 people in the UK, and this course draws on significant industry leadership and experience that spans the Hollywood of gaming in nearby Guildford and Aldershot. You will develop a number of transferable skills which are highly prized by companies working in the creative-technology industries.
Fees, funding & scholarships
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £9,535
EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £26,800
Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course.
How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students who have already taken out a tuition fee loan for undergraduate study should check their eligibility for additional funding directly with the relevant awards body.
*The tuition fee for Home (UK) undergraduates is controlled by Government regulations. This figure is the fee for the academic year 2025/26 and is shown as a guide. The fee for the academic year 2026/27 has not yet been announced.
**This figure is the fee for EU and international students on this course in the academic year 2026/27.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase tuition fees annually for all students. For further information see fees and funding.
*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2026/27 academic year. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.
